Memory
by The Nightdreamer
Summary: Partner story to 'Midnight'. His death was already known to him, yet he still lived on.
1. Childhood

Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.

Chapter 1:

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18: 06, SUNDAY, 11TH JUNE, 2000

HIDDEN KINGDOM, HEWATE (VILLAGE IN THE NORTH)

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_The little boy stood on both his feet_

The little boy leaned further near the cliff. He looked down eagerly, his face shining with curiosity. His pale skin, mixed colour hair, dark eyes and odd fascination with the bridge between two worlds made him an outcast in the village.

A voice called out. "Lin?!"

The 5 year old boy turned around, a slightly crestfallen look on his face. "I'm here!" He called, nevertheless, not wanting his parents to worry. His father, a tall man, big and bulky, with a stern expression on his face, sighed. "Lin, you cannot always stay at the gate. One day, you'll fall in and where will we be?"

The boy looked down, ashamed. "I just wanted to see."

"What?" The father was curious as he joined his son. His son looked up, renewed curiosity in his voice.

"I heard someone say that it is possible to somehow look at the gate, at both worlds!" The father couldn't help but smile at the child's enthusiasm, before dampening it as gently as he could.

"It's impossible."

The child shook his head stubbornly. "No. It can be. Mummy said it." His father wiped his face with his hand, sighing.

"You don't have to believe _everythin_g that your mother says."

Lin Chung looked up, his head tilted, dark eyes questioning. "Why?" The father bit his lip, knowing that it would be hard to explain why. Along with inheriting most of her features, he had also inherited his mother's personality and mind. The child practically worshipped his mother.

"Because she can be wrong sometimes. Like I can be."

"But she's always right." He murmured, nearly half to himself.

The father sighed. "It is hard to explain. Now, we have to go home. Your mother has dinner ready." The child's eyes lit up, and he ran into the forest, with the father sighing with an amused snort, before he ran after the boy, shouting at him to wait up.

_To try and see both worlds._

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**AN: Ok, so here's the partner story/backstory that I said for 'Midnight'. Enjoy, and please review! This story plot is very short and sudden, but give me some credit; I wrote all of it in less than an hour. Because I was bored.**


	2. Attack

Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.

Chapter 2:

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19:34, THURSDAY, 18TH APRIL, 2002

HIDDEN KINGDOM, HEWATE (VILLAGE IN THE NORTH)

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The father gasped, drawing his blades as he charged at the spirit that came to haunt his family. "Run!" His wife picked up the child, and took off running, ignoring the child's cry.

The spirits looked up, but all was silent once again, and the father took comfort in this, because, at least, his son knew when to keep silent when spirits were haunting the area.

He managed to edge the spirits to the edge of the cliff, where the spirits screamed as they were forced down the dark and endless vortex.

The father sighed with relief, but charged back into the forest to find more to hunt, and to make sure his family was safe.

That was when he heard the cry of the child and the mother. He suddenly heard a noise, and turned to the right, before his eyes widened and he let out a yell as he fell down the dark vortex as well, never to rise again.

_His father fell in_

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19:45, THURSDAY, 18TH APRIL, 2002

HIDDEN KINGDOM, FORESTS (NORTH OF HEWATE)

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The mother ran, child held securely and tightly in her arms. The child was keeping silent, it's head resting on her shoulder, though it's body was tense.

She hummed a lullaby to the little boy as she ran, comforting him a little.

She prayed that the father had taken the spirits down, before she stopped dead as a spirit came running at her, weapon in hand.

On instinctual thought, she slyly dropped the boy quietly into a bush, where he remained silent, though a whimper escaped. The woman turned around, drawing a blade from her skirt, and their blades clanged.

They continued to fight.

The mother sensed when the father was defeated, but she kept on fighting, fighting to keep her child safe.

The child who was hidden in the bushes this very moment.

He was silent, but she was certain she saw a pair of eyes look up at her mournfully before it disappeared again.

She suddenly felt something below her as she backed away from the spirit, being forced away from her child, before she screamed as she fell down the vortex as well, hearing her child cry out as well, but not knowing that her husband would follow soon after.

_His mother fell in._

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**AN: Thank you everyone who read this. Ok, this was short, I know, but this is called a _short _story for a reason. Please review!**


	3. Pickpocket

Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.

Chapter 3:

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13:05, MONDAY, 17TH NOVEMBER, 2003

HIDDEN KINGDOM, REXT (VILLAGE: 24 MILES AWAY FROM HEWATE)

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Lin Chung stumbled blindly around the forest, looking around as he approached the street. As he grew up, he learnt how to pickpocket, but he only stole what was necessary, and did not take any more for the day.

He approached a rich looking fellow, and, waiting for the afternoon crowd to gather, he slipped easily in, stealing the fellow's wallet, his coins, before running off before the man could notice. He retreated back into the forest, and beamed at his win, before he slipped back into the hollow he had been using as a home.

He could buy food later.

He looked at a cloth bundled on the floor; his mother's scarf, the one she had been wearing and dropped as she was fighting. It was sentimental, and he knew he was being ridiculous, but still.

The 8 year old boy crept out as night settled in, and approached the food stalls, slipping the money and grabbing the food before leaving again.

He sighed as he crept back to the hollow.

_And only he was left._

He had escaped death over and over again, either by lucky accidents or quick reflexes.

Death was now looming threateningly over him, but he dared not give in. He remembered a poem his mother used to read to him, and had already found out its meaning.

The clues were there. The crease in the forehead, the shaking off the hands, the tears she sometimes shed when she recited the poem to him, until he had recalled it to memory.

He was going to live until his 17th Halloween, and then give in.

_Death tried to find him._

That had been his resolution, and he was determined to stay alive until then.

Pickpocketing had been his only option when he needed clothes and other supplies where the owners were too used to being robbed, so they were sharp.

He needed money to try and pass off being normal.

Another sigh escaped him as he ran his hand through his now dark grey hair, the right slowly becoming brighter for some unknown reason.

The left remained as black as ever, something which reminded him of his past. His pale skin stood out in contrast compared to the people living around the area, where they had darker skin.

He looked up, startled as a rustling came from within. He approached it cautiously, dagger in hand, before springing upon an old man, who merely blocked the dagger with a flick off his hand.

"Who are you?"

The man looked back, warmth in his tone. "Tien Kwan."

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**AN: This is how I envision him meeting Tien Kwan using this storyline. Just saying, and, as always, please review!**


	4. Big Green

Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.

Chapter 4:

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23:56, SATURDAY, 31ST OCTOBER, 2009

HIDDEN KINGDOM, SEVERAL MILES FROM BIG GREEN

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_And so did the spirits_

Lin Chung cursed as yet another batch of spirits came at him. The spirits seemed to be endless during Halloween, but he managed to keep up with it, thanks to Tien Kwan.

The kindly old man had taken Lin Chung in, and soon revealed himself to be a strict yet encouraging teacher, who expected nothing but the best from this student.

Of course, Lin Chung had told his master about the poem, and Tien Kwan had faltered for a moment, before starting to teach him how to escape the spirits and fight them.

But that didn't mean that the spirits would stop searching for him completely.

He had seen the Reaper a couple of times before, but never in the face.

Halloween was simply a feast for the spirits and an opportunity to hunt for souls, while the Reaper kept up accordingly to all the deaths during Halloween.

The fact that his father had been a spirit-hunter had also ensured Lin Chung's higher than normal immunity to the spirits' touch, which enabled him to either block or pull away the spirits from any poor human beings.

However, the touch can only hast around 30 seconds before he _had_ to let go, or he would be sucked into the spirits themselves. The spirits were dangerous things when something comes between them and their prey.

He shivered at the thought as he avoided yet another spirit searching for him.

It seemed, after their initial feeding for two thirds of the night, they would scour the globe for him on the remaining third of the night, leaving him travelling as fast as a blessing would allow him.

The blessing had come down from his parents, which meant that on Halloween, he would have enhanced immunity, speed and skill, but only for that night before it faded the next morning.

He had eagerly honed the blessing with his master, until he could enhance them no more.

Leaping from a tree to another, he pressed himself against the trunk of the tree, hoping desperately that none of the spirits would find him.

Silence met him, and he leapt up, surprised.

The spirits were heading to a place that looked newly built, and Lin Chung's eyes narrowed.

There must have been a lot of people there to get them away from their chase for him. He followed, keeping to the shadows. Even though the temptation had lured them away from him, he wasn't sure what would happen if they suddenly turned on him.

_But no one did._

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06: 08, SATURDAY, 31ST OCTOBER, 2009

HIDDEN KINGDOM, BIG GREEN

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He successfully managed to keep the spirits away from the place, a large dome, until dawn, where he yawned, and collapsed, the exhaustion this night finally taking its toll on him.

The last thought he had was that Tien Kwan would kill him.

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**AN: Short chapter, once again. Next chapter will be the last, and will have some parts from 'Midnight'. Please review!**


	5. Meeting Death

Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.

Chapter 5:

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20: 51, MONDAY, 31ST OCTOBER, 2011

HIDDEN KINGDOM, BIG GREEN

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After joining Big Green, Lin Chung still know that danger followed him wherever he went. He narrowly escaped death each time, the closest being the incident with the labyrinth.

He shuddered, remembering the experience well.

That was not something he was willing to go through again. It was only because that that was the evening of Halloween night, and he had got his enhanced skills, letting him live.

Nothing else had happened. His birthday came and went, him not telling them the day of his birthday, as usual he did with everyone, even with his master.

It was not that he didn't appreciate birthday parties, it was just that he didn't see the point in them.

His birthday was nothing special, after all, on October 30th, just one day before Halloween. As his 16th Halloween came and went, he became more apprehensive.

When his birthday came and past, for the whole morning of Halloween, he had spent in his room, looking in the mirror, his hazard features from a previous sleepless night, and the anticipation in his eyes.

Until Jumpy had come and fetched him.

That reminded him he still had friends, so he had joined them for the party, before he had left early, saying his goodbyes to the Squad members, though they wouldn't realise what it was for until too late.

His heart beat with anticipation as he hid in the shadows, placing a dummy in his bed, waiting for the spirit to show up.

_But after his 17th Halloween_

The spirit did not disappoint.

Within the next half hour, the spirit appeared, and was easy to take care off. Finding the boy that they had been searching for since young and getting a meal at the biggest populated place all in one seemed too good to be true.

That was another reason to join Big Green.

They would give him protection, food and others, yes, but they would also help lure the spirits there, where he would be waiting and could easily protect them.

He was surprised. He thought that after the last few Halloween nights, they would have learnt not to be so trusting so fast, but it seemed that they were stupid or tempted enough to ignore the last few Halloween nights at Big Green.

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23: 58, MONDAY, 31ST OCTOBER, 2011

HIDDEN KINGDOM, BAMBOO FOREST (SEVERAL MILES FROM BIG GREEN)

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_The Reaper will help him_

The Grim Reaper was not as scary as he had thought, but, then again, his scary thoughts were strongly different from the ones of normal people. After all, his father had been a spirit-hunter, and had often told his son 'bedtime stories' that normal people would tell at a campfire.

He could imagine up some pretty scary things, and the Bronze Giant was the mildest one he had thought off.

It's skeleton face looked down, but Lin Chung remained unfazed.

"You are prepared?" Was the first thing it asked. Lin Chung had already been ready with an answer.

"I was prepared since I was a child." This was spoken in a calm voice, like he wasn't facing death in the face at that very moment. Death nodded grudgingly.

He looked straight at the scythe in the Reaper's hands, not in the least fazed. The only regret he had was about how his friends would not know, not now, not ever. Tien Kwan had sworn not to tell anyone unless Lin Chung permitted it, and Lin Chung would not be alive to tell him.

The scythe swung through the air.

Death was not like how others said, cold and ruthless. Instead, it was warm and giving.

That was how it felt like to Lin Chung as he finally met up with his parents, both smiling warmly, once again.

_Follow his parents in death._

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**AN: Last chapter, finally done. Yay...and please review!**


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